1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for cleaning totes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Paint and other chemicals utilized by large OEM users, such as automotive manufacturers, are typically purchased by the user in totes. Although the totes may vary in size, a typical size for a tote is six feet tall by a four foot square. A fill opening at the top of the tote is provided for filling the tote with the liquid while a valve assembly, typically adjacent the bottom of the tote, is provided for removing the contents of the tote as desired by the end user.
Due to the high cost of the tote, once the liquid in the tote has been used, the tote is conventionally cleaned, refilled and then reused. In order to clean the interior of the tote, it has been the previous practice for workers to enter into the interior of the tote with scrub brushes and other cleaning equipment and then to manually scrub the interior of the tote. The tote is allowed to air dry and, when dry, recapped and then shipped to the appropriate filling station.
Many OEM users, for example the automotive industries, have increased the demand for cleanliness of the tote after the tote is cleaned and prior to refilling with paint or similar liquid. Such strict cleanliness specifications are required in order to prevent surface defects, such as fish eye, from forming on the vehicles when the vehicles are painted by the automotive OEM user. Indeed, it is not believed possible to meet cleanliness standards of the tote after cleaning for future requirement projections of the automotive industry while using the previously known methods for cleaning the totes.